Archives for October 2015

UNDATED (AP) — Enough teasing: Adele really is going to release another album. Adele tweets if her last album was a break-up record, the next one will be a make-up record. She says she’s making up for lost time, for everything she did and for everything she never did. She expresses regret that when she was younger, she kept wanting to be older instead of living in the moment. The album will be called “25,” but she doesn’t give a release date. She apologizes for it taking so long but she adds, “You know, life happened.”

UNDATED (AP) — Cory Wells of Three Dog Night once said when he first heard “Joy To The World,” he hated it. Wells said in a July 2013 AP interview he thought it was a children’s song, and it was only when they started working on it that he saw the potential. Wells died unexpectedly at the age of 73 Tuesday in Dunkirk, New York, according to the band’s Facebook page. A cause of death was not given. Wells sang lead on “Never Been To Spain” and “Shambala,” as well as on the number-one hit “Mama Told Me (Not To Come).” He had said he used to try to sing that one like Randy Newman, since it’s Newman’s song, but he later decided it was better if he just sang it like himself. Three Dog Night singer Danny Hutton says Wells was “an incredible singer” and “a great performer” who could sing anything. Former Three Dog Night singer Chuck Negron tweeted an old photo of Wells and the caption, “I will miss you,” with a heart.

LAS VEGAS (AP) Erykah Badu has been named host of the Soul Train Awards. Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson and The Weeknd lead the way with five nominations each. The Soul Train Awards will tape on November 6 in Las Vegas and air on BET on November 29.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — People who saw Justin Timberlake get inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame got a little more than the traditional song and dance — they got to see Timberlake singing and dancing — in the style of a couple of some R&B legends. He did vocal impersonations of Al Green and Otis Redding. He also performed with Sam Moore of Sam & Dave and exchanged jokes with “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon — who handled the intro for Timberlake’s induction.

LONG BRANCH, N.J. (AP) — It sounds like it would be a big deal, real estate-wise: the New Jersey home where Bruce Springsteen wrote his iconic album “Born to Run.” But so far, it hasn’t worked out for the people who bought the place back in 2009. The owners are putting the two-bedroom cottage back on the market. The last owners bought he place with the idea of turning it into a tribute to Springsteen — but those plans haven’t come to fruition. The house does draw visitors. Now the owners want to know if it can draw a buyer. The home’s list price is $299,000.

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (AP) — The bass player for the Grateful Dead has bladder cancer. Phil Lesh announced his condition on the Facebook page of his California restaurant and concert hall. Lesh says he was diagnosed earlier this month — and says he has been undergoing test at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. He says he will have the tumors removed — but feels “very fortunate” that that doctors feel the tumors aren’t aggressive and that there’s no sign they have spread.

HAVANA (AP) — Here, in the U.S., they are considered among the top musicians. But in Cuba, they are considered party people. The big-name acts are among those who are helping Cuba put itself on the map as a destination for fun, now that the U.S. embargo is easing. The influx of stars making the Cuban scene has included visits by Jagger, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Usher, Ludacris and Jimmy Buffet.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — Hard to believe Ol’ Blue Eyes has been gone this long. The Grammy people are putting together a big event to mark what would have been Frank Sinatra’s 100th birthday. On Dec. 2, artists like Alicia Keys, Adam Levine, Carrie Underwood, John Legend and Garth Brooks will gather in Las Vegas to tape the special: “Sinatra 100 — An All-Star Grammy Concert.” It will air Dec. 6 on CBS.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says one of the things that makes America great is that “we turn life into lyrics.” The president says creativity is one of the nation’s most precious gifts — and he acknowledged some artists who’ve helped bestow that. The show included performances by Guy, Usher, James Taylor, Queen Latifah, Smokey Robinson, Esperanza Spalding, MC Lyte, Audra McDonald, Trombone Shorty, Keb’ Mo’ and Brian Stokes Mitchell. The performances will be featured in a new installment of the PBS television show “In Performance at the White House.” It will be broadcast Jan. 8

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama says if young people want to learn to succeed — they have to learn what it’s like to fail, too. The first lady spoke with a group of students attending a musical workshop at the White House yesterday. She told them “failure is a part” of the process of becoming successful — and that when setbacks occur, “you just learn to pick yourself up.” Among the artists involved in the workshop were Smokey Robinson, Esperanza Spalding and MC Lyte.